Just over a week ago, when Kenneth Feinberg took over handling of damage claims from the Gulf oil spill, he promised to cut through the delays and confusion common under the much-maligned BP system. But Feinberg’s goals – particularly his pledge to respond to personal claims for emergency payments within 48 hours – may be overly ambitious. Applicants say that they have not received responses within two days of filing claims and have encountered an array of service problems.